Pagliacci

When I bought season tickets for the Opera Colorado season, I wasn’t sure if Marina would want to see Pagliacci. But when I explained the story to her she was excited to see it. The opening night was tonight and we had tickets to see it.

Initially, Marina didn’t want to dress up for the show. But when I suggested a black dress and a goth look, she liked that idea. Once she finished her hair and makeup, she was very pleased with how she looked.

We arrived with plenty of time for the show. As we walked through the lobby, we saw a photo booth. Marina put on a black fascinator and picked up a peacock fan to pose for photos. The woman taking the pictures loved how she looked.

We brought drinks and went to our seats for the show. When it finally started it was obvious early that the subtitles were not working. While we both watched carefully, it was hard to understand what was going on. At intermission, an older man asked us about the subtitles. Marina ended up talking with him and his wife through the entire intermission.

Fortunately the subtitles were working for the second act, so we were able to follow the story. After it was over, Marina said she liked it. We were able to get home fairly quickly after the show although Marina had a hard time settling down for bed.

Pumpkin Art

Since Halloween is only two days away, we decided to take time this evening to carve our pumpkins. This year I didn’t find stencils I liked, so Marina decided to draw the designs on the pumpkins and then carve them out.

First we cleaned out the pumpkins. After I cleaned one out I helped Marina finished the other one. Then she carved out the designs herself. One of them had a crazy face and the other she created the outline of a ghost. After she finished I made the outline on the ghost a bit thicker so it showed up better.

Marina seemed pretty happy with them when we were done.

Carrie

Marina has been interested in the Stephen King story Carrie for a few months now. I tried to get her to read the book this summer and while she was interested in it, she never did. So when I heard a local theater company was presenting the show I thought Marina would enjoy it.

The theater is a long drive from home. It was rush hourwhen we left, so the drive took longer than planned. We were able to find parking near the theater. As it turned out, much of the cast of Pippin, which we saw a week ago, were also attending the performance. Marina wanted popcorn munch on during the show. She ate a lot of it.

We both enjoyed the show. The cast was talented and followed the original story fairly well. The fire effects at the end were pretty cool as well. As we were leaving we saw many of the cast members in the lobby. We spoke with several of them and took photos before starting out journey home.

Ghosts in the Gardens

Marina and I sometimes watch the TV show Ghost Hunters together. So we were both excited to go on one of the Ghosts in the Gardens tours at the botanic gardens this evening. I’ve known for a while that the land used to be a cemetery, which is creepy enough. But both of us were interested in learning more.

When we arrived, we sat in an auditorium and watched a brief movie about the history of the land and how human remains are often found there. We also saw some footage a local ghost hunter had found. Then the group split into four.

We started over by the greenhouses. our guide told us some of the stories of ghosts that people have reported, including one called The Watchman. We even got to go into the employee area behind the greenhouses. There has been quite a lot of reported activity in Greenhouse #4.

We went to the Victorian Secret Garden where we heard about a couple who sit on the bench and strolls through the park. In the back area we were told about one called The Shadow Man who was not at all friendly.

Throughout the tour we heard stories of strange sighting and sounds. In the Lilac Garden there have been reports of a girl in a white dress. After hearing that, Marina swore she’d seen her on one of our visits there.

On the tour we were able to go into a 1920’s mansion that the botanic gardens uses for offices. It was a gorgeous house. We heard about the previous residents who might still be there, including a little boy named Jack. We also checked out a haunted mirror.

After the House, our tour arrived at the main entrance. Marina and I both enjoyed the tour. We agreed we’ll never look at the gardens the same way again!

Maleficent at the Movies

Marina has been on fall break this week and she has spent most of it with her dad. I was able to take time off today to spend with her. So we decided to see the new movie Maleficent: Mistress of All Evil. We went to the for a lunchtime showing.

Maleficent Mistress of All Evil was more action packed than the first Maleficent movie. When it was over, Marina said “I think I have a new favorite movie.”

Sweeney Todd

Marina enjoyed seeing the musical Sweeney Todd this summer. As it turns out, several theaters are performing that show this year. We decide to check out the show at one of them tonight.

After dinner, we got ready to go to the show. The traffic wasn’t too bad considering we were at the end of rush hour. We quickly found a parking place and walked to the theater. When we arrived the doors were already open. So we went in to pick our seats. Marina was pleased that we were able to sit in the front row. She was excited to see the show.

This production was different from the last one we saw but Marina didn’t mind. Her favorite character was still Toby.

After the show, we waited to catch up with the actor who played Sweeney. We’ve met him a few times before and we brought photos for him. At first he didn’t remember us, but he loved looked at the pictures. He spent quite a while speaking with us and he even encouraged Marina in her acting aspirations.

After our conversation was over, Marina and I headed for the car. It was pretty late and we were both tired.

Miss You Like Hell

A friend of ours has a leading role in the musical Miss you Like Hell at a local theater. So this evening we went to see the show. Marina was very excited to see her.

After dinner we drove to the theatre. We arrived early, so we checked out the new murals which were recently added outside the building. We went inside and got drinks. Once the house was open, we found our seats in the front row. The show didn’t have a lot of people there and we were the only ones in our row.

Once the show began, Marina followed the action closely. The story was about a mother and daughter. Our friend’s character was a 16 year-old girl with divorced parents and there was a lot about her that Marina identified with. And throughout, there were lines that were very similar to what Marina and I have said to each other.

The end of the show was sad and Marina got a bit teary, something that doesn’t happen very often. Clearly, it affected her.

After the show we waited for our friend in the lobby. She gave us each a warm hug and we gave her the roses we brought for her. She also introduced us to her “stage mom.” I got a few photos of them in the theatre before we left. We talked with her for quite a while before we headed home. Marina and I were pretty tired by then.

Miss Saigon

This summer, we saw the opera Madame Butterfly. Marina enjoyed it so I was looking forward to taking her to see Miss Saigon which is based on Madame Butterfly. Before going to see it we talked about the Vietnam War a bit so she would understand some of the background.

We left the house a bit early to make sure we had time to park. We didn’t have too much trouble. We took a few pictures outside the theatre and then went inside. We bought drinks and Marina wanted a snack. We had a good view from our seats and we were excited to see the show.

Miss Saigon was an emotional, intense show. Overall Marina liked it, but she was bored in a few parts. She was very impressed with the helicopter in the recreation of the fall of Saigon.

When the show was over, Marina was clearly exhausted. Fortunately we were able to get home quickly.

Cabaret

This evening, we had tickets to see Cabaret. Since Marina enjoyed Chicago so much last month, I decided to take her to Cabaret which is written by the same composer and lyricist. On the way to the show, we talked about the historical setting of pre-World War II Germany and how that was significant to the story.

We arrived early but when we were finally allowed into the theater, we were amazed by how it looked.   The whole area had been transformed into a nightclub. It looked amazing! Once the show started, Marina was very interested. When one character removed his jacked to reveal a swastika armband, Marina gasped. Clearly she knew what that was.

The show had raunchy moments and very suggestive dancing, but Marina didn’t seem to get too embarrassed. She followed the story pretty well and we had an interesting discussion afterwards.

A friend of ours played Fraulein Schneider in the show, so we waited to see her afterwards. We also gave her a book of photos we’ve taken after other performances we’ve seen her in. It was fun to catch up with her. We also met the performers who played the Emcee and Sally.

We had a bit of rain on the way home, but luckily we didn’t get too wet.

I Love Rock and Roll

Marina loves the song “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and I’m a fan of the band Heart. Both bands were performing this evening and Marina was very excited. While she has been to concerts before, we’ve never gone together.

We arrived  early but it took us a really long time to get into the building and even longer to get drinks and snacks. We finally got to our seats after the opening act, Elle King, had already started performing. Fortunately we didn’t miss her most famous song, “Exes and Ohs” which Marina really likes.

Next up were Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. They played a fantastic set and I could see Marina jamming along with each song. She was especially happy during “I Love Rock and Roll.” Joan sounded great and her guitarist was incredibly talented.

When Heart took the stage we weren’t quite as into it. While the band sounded good, the songs they picked were unfamiliar and were didn’t feel the same excitement we had with Joan Jett. We were both a bit bored through much of it.

Once the concert ended it was late and we were ready to go home. It had been a very long day.

The Tale of Sweeney Todd

Marina has been a Stephen Sondheim fan for a while and looks forward to seeing his shows. One of my favorites is Sweeney Todd. It’s labelled as a “musical thriller” since it is about a serial killer. Marina decided that she was finally ready to see it.

When we arrived in the mountain town and found the theatre easily. We looked around for somewhere to eat and ultimately decided on a brewpub which bragged about its chicken wings. We ordered drinks, wings and nachos. The food took quite a while but fortunately we were right across the street from the theatre and we arrived with plenty of time to see the show.

This production of Sweeney Todd was intense and creepy, but not bloody. Marina enjoyed the humorous parts and really got into the story. After the show she said she really liked it. As we were leaving she asked me about meeting the cast. I wasn’t sure how to do that since I hadn’t been there before. But when we entered the lobby we found the entire cast doing meet and greets still in their costumes. Marina was happy to meet the actors who played the main characters. She especially liked Toby. She spoke with him for a while.

The drive home was a long one and Marina tried to sleep but had trouble doing it. We arrived home very late and she went right to bed.

The Last Defender

For Marina’s birthday last year, we tried an escape room. We both enjoyed that, so we decided to try another one. This one was called The Last Defender. It was set in the Cold War era. From what I read, we would be given a series of puzzles to solve to try and save the world.

We arrived a bit early, so we sat and waited. As the rest of our group arrived, we chatted with them. We ended up with eight in our group. The other people seemed really nice.

To start the game, we each were assigned a name and a locker. I was “Mainframe” and Marina got “Heavy Duty.” We had to put on flight suits then we got into an elevator. We didn’t seem to move until I spotted a small door in the elevator. I pulled out a cartridge and a set of keys and then the door opened.

We went into a technical looking room. Each of us was assigned a part of the room to look around in. I went to Storage. Marina and I were both in the Engineering Department, and we were assigned a series of tasks that had us running around the room. Then we watched a video which gave us our real mission.

Marina figured out how to get the numbers for a code. Those numbers were for a safe I saw in storage. We found the manual with the cartridge I gathered earlier. Then we unlocked all the puzzles around the room. While those were assigned, I worked with two of the guys to unlock the control panel.

Marina had a task in the sleeping quarters and I went back into Storage to find the goggles. The goggles led me to a piano where I had to play a code. That opened a secret room where I h

ad to put metal balls into slots to determine the code. Marina helped me sort that out.

We were running out of time, but the team only had two codes to find. Marina and I went to help on different ones. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. We were all disappointed because we were so close to solving it. Despite that, we all had a great time.

After the game, we picked up some cold drinks and walked to the train. We didn’t have to wait too long before it arrived. It was a fun evening, but we were wiped out by it.

The Full Monty

This evening, we had tickets to see The Full Monty at a theater near home. Marina said she wanted to see it because one of her Broadway Showcase teachers was in it. As it got closer, I explained to her what it was about and she seemed a bit concerned about it, but we decided to go anyway. When we arrived at the theater we found we were in the front row. That made Marina even more nervous. We were given a handful of fake dollar bills to throw onstage at the end of the show.

Marina was not the youngest person there. We met an eleven year old girl who was there with her mother. There was also a sixteen year old behind us. I think that made her feel better.

The Full Monty was longer than most shows we see but it went by quickly. It was very funny and Marina was laughing throughout. At times she looked a bit embarrassed – there was crude language and situations, but she clearly enjoyed the show.

The cast of the show were in the lobby afterwards. Marina made a point to speak with the actors who played her favorite characters. And, of course, we talked with her teacher for a few minutes. It was late when we finally made it home, but it was a really fun night!

Lea Salonga Concert

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to see Lea Salonga in concert. Marina knows her as the singing voice of Disney’s Jasmine and Mulan. I was concerned that she might be bored since she wasn’t familiar with much of the music being performed. However, the performances were so good that Marina stayed engaged the whole time. She was especially happy when she sang “Go the Distance” from Hercules and “Reflection” from Mulan. She finished the first act with “I’d Give My Life For You” from Miss Saigon.

After intermission, Lea performed “Burn” from Hamilton. Marina was thrilled. The highlight of the show was when she performed “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Since it’s a duet, she asked for a volunteer from the audience to sing with her. The guy who she picked turned out to be a very good singer. After the concert we talked with the man who sang on stage. It was fun to hear how excited he was about the experience.

As the concert wrapped up, Lea Salonga thanked everyone for spending Saturday night with her. Marina called out “It’s the best way.” Lea heard and thanked her. As we were leaving, Marina asked me if we could see Miss Saigon when the tour comes to Denver. I told her I was already planning for that.

Family Enchantment

Marina and I have been going to Disney on Ice shows for years. This year, her aunt and cousin wanted to join us. So we arranged to go together this afternoon.

Marina is not allowed to dress up for the shows anymore, so she wore her Alice in Wonderland dress. We left early to avoid the crowds. We got a good parking spot and easily got into the building. We picked up drinks and went to our seats.

When the show started, both girls were drawn in by the show. We saw a long Toy Story segment followed by The Little Mermaid. The second part started with a short scene from Cars and ended with Frozen. When the show was over, we took a few photos near the ice before walking out to the parking lot.

Musical Heathers

Last fall I took Marina to see the musical Heathers. She loved it. Another theater is performing it this month and she was excited to see it again. We arranged to see it with some of our friends. Marina wanted to wear a plaid skirt since the main characters wore them in the last version we saw. So I found one of my old black and white plaid skirts and she matched it up with a black shirt.

We had dinner at a restaurant near the theater. After we ate we walked to the theater. Marina was very excited about seeing the show again. As she often does, she got restless when it didn’t start on time. But when the lights went down, we was happy.

The show is still a provocative one. We noticed that one of the raunchiest songs had been replaced with a different one. Despite all the dark comedy, Marina enjoyed the show. As we were leaving the theatre, the actress playing Heather McNamara came out in her costume. Marina immediately went over to talk with her. We also ran into Veronica before we left. Marina was happy about that!

A Musical Jekyll & Hyde

Marina and I enjoy going to dinner theaters despite the distance from home. One we like is currently showing Jekyll & Hyde, a show Marina and I have seen before. We had tickets for tonight’s performance. Marina decided to wear her Victorian costume with a cape.

When the show started we were both very impressed. The actor playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was very talented. After the show we got photos with him and another actor we know. We hung around a bit longer than usual, but eventually had to get going since we had such a long drive home. We listened to the soundtrack to Hamilton on the way home which made it seem to go by faster.

Captain Marvel

Marina has been into super hero movies lately. We’d heard good things about Captain Marvel who opened last week, so we decided to go see it tonight.

There seemed to be a lot of previews and Marina and I were getting a bit bored with them. Fortunately they finally ended and the movie started. We both really enjoyed it. Marina especially liked the cat.